Salisbury
Once the largest town on the The Eastern Shore, Salisbury has re-established itself as the largest town on the Shore once again. Home to the xenophobic "Republic of Salisbury", Salisbury desperate attempts to attract trade caravans from its western neighbors and fend off increasing incursions from the tribal locals and Swampfolk. History Pre-War Originally founded as a colonial outpost, Salisbury grew slowly throughout the years. It was the fastest growing port in Maryland, second only to Baltimore, and was home to the local Salisbury University. Most of Salisbury's economy was based around poultry and shipbuilding, and during the Great War it wasn't even subject to any sort of bombing aside from a cursory conventional rocket attack. Post War Most of the citizens who survived the initial few days of the Great War stayed in Salisbury. Looting and arson, surprisingly, was kept to a minimum. Most people assumed that the federal government would soon come to aid them, an idea reinforced by the arrival of a small group of National Guardsmen. However, radiation from the heavy nuclear bombing of Washington, DC began to seep into the area, affecting many. Those who were turned into ghouls were quickly killed by their non-ghoulish neighbors out of fear that "ghoulism" was infectious. Various diseases began popping up by 2092 which ravaged the population. By 2095, Salisbury had been abandoned as people died from diseases or fled in fear of said diseases. In 2125, a group of settlers finally re-entered Salisbury after a long period with only brief human settlement. Making the basis of their settlement in the ruins of downtown, which had been largely destroyed by arson and decay like most of the city, they began attracting more settlers as they started to clear Salisbury from the packs of wild dogs or roaming groups of tribals who had temporarily settled in the area. By 2132 they had formed a fully functioning settlement in the heart of the city. They worked to attract trade and even more settlers to the republic, while trying to keep mutating beasts and local tribes away. Several years later in 2135, the first law enforcement group began in Salisbury. Calling themselves the "Citizen Committee", they began by patrolling the streets of Salisbury during the night and day as well as the outskirts of the settlement. The Citizen Committee quickly grew in both support and numbers as regular citizens viewed it as both a fantastic way to protect their homes as well as increase their social standings within the settlement. Raids from the tribal groups that inhabited the countryside near Salisbury decreased dramatically as the organized and well-armed force repulsed them away from their homes several times. These raids caused a bitter animosity between the tribals and the people of Salisbury as each side would lose loved ones and resources to the other side. By 2148, however, the Citizens Committee had grown immensely. Many began to criticize the heavy-handed nature of the Committee, with some even asking them to cease their patrols. The then current leader of the Citizens Committee a Jed O'Brien talked with several of the senior officers of the Committee and decided to enact a drastic plan to avoid any potential future conflict with the rest of the settlement's population. Declaring a "Republic of Salisbury", with all of the current members of the settlements and their future families as citizens, Jed O'Brien created The Council in which thirty citizens would be elected from the populace by their peers to create laws. Within The Council, they would vote and elect one of their own as a Council Chair to preside over these meetings and to serve as a general leader for the community. The Republic of Salisbury was warmly received by the new citizens of the Republic who quickly set about electing a council. Jed O'Brien, through a few crafty political maneuvers, found himself at Council Chair. Jed and his supporters from the Citizens Committee quickly worked to place other members of the Citizens Committee in positions of power, as well as setting up basic services such as sanitation and equal food distribution. In addition, Jed O'Brien proceeded to raid the nearby tribal villages for food and slaves; deeming it both as payback for tribal raids on the early settlement as well as needing a workforce to complete the several projects that Jed was attempting to complete. Layout Salisbury is divided into three districts. The first is the "Citizens District" where the three hundred or so citizens live in a Republic-supplied housing in what was once downtown Salisbury. A wall surrounds the Citizen's District in an effort to serve as a double layer of protection from the wasteland in addition to the walls that surround the entire town. Several small shops line up outside as people go about their days in a relative peace. Category:Places Category:Communities